


Victorious.

by snufflesmajor



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Hogwarts Seventh Year, M/M, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 09:09:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14375598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snufflesmajor/pseuds/snufflesmajor
Summary: Filch has the map but the Marauders have a plan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted to my old account. As I have a new AO3, I'm reuploading all my HP fics (of which there are few).

   “Gentleman, gentleman. You must calm down, or else we’ll never get to the first order of business.”

   “Sirius, no one is ta-”

   “Hush, Moony!” James interrupted, pausing briefly so he could shoot Sirius a supportive glance. “Our fearless second in command is trying to sp-”

   “ _Second in command? Prongs, you surely can’t mean to imply _you’re_  the leader!”_

   “Remus is our leader, isn’t he?” Peter added dully, his nose buried in an upside down Arithmancy textbook. He wasn’t studying Arithmancy for his NEWTs, but he was so overtired, no one had the heart to point this out to him.

   “Why am  _I_  the leader?” Remus let out a long suffering sigh that none of them believed. “Aren’t I the one who always  _tries_  to make you see sense?”

   A three person chuckle reverberated throughout the room, and Remus threw his hands in the air and fell backward to his bed. “I don’t know why I bother with any of you. Criminals and petty crooks, the lot of you.”

   “Then does this make James third in command? After myself and Moony?”

   “The only thing you’re ahead of me in is losing, Pads!”

   “Oi! That’s not true! I always beat you at—” Sirius stopped himself then threw himself on top of Remus’ bed (nearly knocking Remus off in the process). “We’re off point!”

   “Did you ever have a point?” James asked unhelpfully.

   “If he did, he’d be sure to miss it.” Remus added.

   “I don’t know,” Peter murmured, having given up on studying much like Remus had after accepting he could no longer read the words literally dancing in front of his eyes (that  _can’t_  be normal), “Padfoot mightn’t know what he’s meant to miss and run straight into it.”

    _“Wormtail!”_  Sirius gasped, “I expect this rot from these two traitors, but not from you!”

   Peter shrugged. Truthfully, he just didn’t feel like being paraded about by Sirius as something of an example. The last time he’d agreed with him, he’d been unable to get any peace at all.

    _“Well.”_  Indignant, Sirius huffed and rolled onto his back so he could cross his arms as petulantly as possible. “ _Obviously_ , none of you want to know what this  _very interesting and remarkably ingenious_  plan is.”

   “Sorry, Pads. But I actually have a date with Ev- _Lily_ , in the common room, and—”

   “Oh, don’t beg, Potter.” Sirius sprung up, this time successfully knocking Remus from the bed. “It doesn’t become you. But! I’ll tell you anyway. So, lads! The map—”

   “Oh come of it, Padfoot. The map is gone! Gone! Filch has it! And we have more important things to worry about, like the war, and my date with Lily!”

   “Did you just compa—”

   “MY DATES WITH LILY ARE IMPORTANT, SIRIUS! WHAT IF SHE SUDDENLY REALISES I’M A GIT, AND—”

   “She already knows you’re a git, Prongs.” Remus sighed from the floor. There’d been no point in getting back up. “And Sirius might have a point. We can’t just drop everything because of the war that isn’t even here yet. We can’t very well let the darkness win by changing ourselves out of fear.”

   “Precisely! Besides, it’s our legacy!” Sirius cried, dragging a struggling Remus to his feet before clutching him to his chest like a trophy. “I say we listen to Moony and get the map!”

   “That’s not what I—”

   “Well, if Remus really wants to…” James sighed.

   “I don’t want to!”

   “It’s settled!” Sirius pulled the now-limp Remus higher in victory. “We’ll go along with Moony and retrieve the map! As it happens, I have just the plan to do it…”


	2. Chapter 2

    Of all the things The Marauders (bar Sirius) had thought they’d be doing that evening, hiding beneath the cloak in a broom cupboard was not one of them. Unfortunately, it seemed Filch became more paranoid with each day as the end of their final year grew closer. The Marauders (bar Remus (and the now half asleep Peter, who had done his best to hold onto his bed in order to stay put but was ultimately dragged out of the dorm against his will)) were all incredibly insulted by this, and had taken turns scoffing.

   “I  _never_.” Huffed James for the umpteenth time. “To  _suspect_ us!”

   “It’s downright  _rude_.” Agreed Sirius. “ _Completely_ uncalled for.”

   “It’s an  _insult_ , not  _only_ to  _us_ , but to this  _entire institution_.”

   “It’s profiling! Finding us  _guilty_ before we’re given so much as a  _trial!_ ”

   “ _Prejudice_!”

   “ _Would you be quiet!_ ” Remus hissed, which prompted James to slap a hand over his mouth.

   “ _Shhh, Moony! He’ll hear you! We’re hiding!_ ”

   “ _Hw’wl zeeh Ahdzez pheeht eefaw ee hrrz mhe._ ”

   “My feet are fine!” Regardless, Sirius crouched lower (but  _not_ in a self conscious way, because  _wasn’t_  Remus right). It seemed he was always the last one to remember his growth spurt and just how much taller he was compared to the others now. “And he’d be lucky to see my feet. In fact, he’d probably become distracted by how  _luxurious_ they look and give us a chance to escape.”

   “ _Eeh maigh leyk ftt?_ ”

   “Moony likes feet?” Peter shook his head violently. That couldn’t possibly be the conversation (was this a dream? What was sleep like? He couldn’t remember, but felt fondly of the concept all the same). “It’s still better than Padfoot’s first idea.”

   Remus made a noise in defense of himself, which was noted but ignored.

   “I still stand by my original plan!” Sirius huffed. “ _Especially_ if Moony is going to become distracted by my feet. I always knew your interests would be a little left of centre, but to think that meant my left foot…”

   “ _Eye doun’—!_ ”

   The door flew open and all four fell silent. There wasn’t so much as a breath coming from any of them, and they waited to see just who had discovered them.

   “Hmm.” Dumbledore’s hum wafted into the broom cupboard like thick smoke and sent a shiver down each of the Marauder’s spines. The Head Boy, a Prefect, and two boys with detention records longer than all their arms combined, hiding in a broom cupboard in the middle of the night…it wasn’t the best possible situation, really. Dumbledore’s eyes travelled quite conspicuously to the ground where James and Sirius’ feet (why were the tallest at the front?!) were clear to see.

   In a  _controlled_ panic, Sirius pushed on James’ shoulders and forced them both into a hasty (if awkward) squat, which subsequently pushed Remus (who was directly behind Sirius) into an unsuspecting Peter, who stumbled backward and into a poorly placed bucket. The sudden loudness surprised the other three (mostly James, though he’d later blame Sirius, who would in turn blame Remus  _“Since it was all your idea, Moony!”_ ), who fell backward onto Peter and landed in a tangle of awkward limbs on the ground.

   On the plus side, their feet were no longer visible (thank  _Merlin!_ ).

   On the down side, several other body parts (including but not limited to: three arms, a knee, a (shapely, if he does say so himself) rear end, and Remus’ head).

   “Mr. Filch, it seems I’m unable to see Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, or Mr. Pettigrew in here.”

   A look of sheer panic crossed Remus’ face and rendered him totally immobile. Thankfully, both Peter and Sirius seemed to understand this, and both yanked Remus under the cloak as quickly as they could.

   “There’s still the other one!”

   “Mr. Lupin?” Dumbledore watched as the visible limbs were (poorly) hidden beneath the cloak, then turned away from the cupboard and to the hall. “I can’t seem to see him either. I do doubt the Head Boy and a Prefect would be out this later without a good reason.”

   “Pfft!” Another door—further away this time—slammed shut, cancelling out Filch’s reply. Dumbledore turned back to the cupboard, winked ( _winked?!_ ), then closed the door.

   The Marauders let out a collective breath of relief. It had been a close one—if any other Professor had caught them, they’d all be on detention until their late thirties. Or worse—forced to experience a gloating Filch for the rest of the year.

   “ _Geroff!_  Prongs, you tosser!” Sirius whispered, his voice muffled by what he suspected to be James’ rear.

   “Ow! Pads, that was my neck!” James replied, rubbing his neck and elbowing Sirius in the—was that his leg?

   “Sorry Prongs, that was me.” Remus admitted, who failed miserably in his attempt to stand despite being tangled beneath both Sirius and James.

   “Ow! Moony!” Peter gasped from beneath Remus’ back, his voice rising in pitch (and desperation) as he continued. “Stopk _ickingmeIw anttohavechildren!_”

   “Right. I think—” James struggled to get up, then fell bodily onto Sirius’ face. “—we need a plan. Sirius, move your…” he prodded a lump of flesh on top of his left leg, “what is that?”

   “That’s my leg.” With a quick shift of his hips, Remus managed to shift away from James. “Is that better?”

   “How did it even get there? Oh, but it’s much better now.” After wriggling off Sirius’ face, James leaned backward onto Sirius’ chest with a content sigh. “Spoon me, Pads. I’m tired.”

   “Only because I can breathe. Think of it as a reward.”

   “ _GERRUF!_ ”

   “Moony, will you not let us have  _any_ peace?” As he mimicked Remus’ long suffering sigh, James pulled himself to his feet then leaned down to help Sirius. The two of them brushed themselves off then automatically put their hands on their hips. “ _Remus **John** Lupin_, I must say I’m disappointed.”

   “I expected this from Remus, Peter, but not from you.” Sirius admonished with a sigh of his own. “You were always the good one. To think you two would be up to no good, lying about in a broom cupboard at this hour…”

   “No wonder Filch is upset. There aren’t even any brooms in here!”

   “Thieved by these two, I suspect.”

   “What would happen if it weren’t for Mr. Padfoot and myself sneaking out of the dorms to drag you back.”

   “It’s past your bedtimes! Don’t you know we have classes tomorrow?”

   “We do?” Peter asked Remus (it never did do to trust the other two when it came to matters of study). “Isn’t it Saturday tomorrow?”

   “It  _is_ Saturday tomorrow, and we  _don’t_ have classes.” Thoroughly finished with the evening’s activities and wanting nothing more than a nice cup of tea, Remus managed to push himself to his feet and brush himself off. He had  _that look_  on his face—the one that signalled great and terrible things happening to all those who tried to oppose him—which just about forced a shudder out of everyone within a five kilometre radius. “Peter, you don’t need to study this hard for the N.E.W.T’s just yet; we have another six months, and you’re going to send yourself blind. You will do  _fine_ , so long as you study each evening and get adequate rest.”

   “I never thought I’d hear Moony tell someone not to study.” Sirius stage whispered to James, who replied with an elbow to Sirius’ waist. Now was not the time to make Remus angry.

   “And you,  _Mr. Black_ — ”

   “Oh, you’re in for it now, Pads. He’s using his Professor Moony voice.”

   “— _and_  you, _Mr. Potter._ ” Remus continued, having anticipated the commentary from James, “Do you  _really_ think Lily would be impressed with this behaviour?”

   “This was Sirius’ idea!”

   “Yes, well,” Despite having already brushed himself off, Remus continued to do so. “If Sirius jumped off a bridge—oh, nevermind, you’d both leap off together. Just get Peter back to the dorms. And  _don’t let him study_.”

   “But my O.W.L’s—”

   “Moony’s right, Wormy. You’re going to send yourself mad if you keep it up.” Gently, as if approaching a frightened animal, James made his way over to Peter and helped him up. He slung an arm around his shoulders and ushered him toward the door as he pulled the cloak Peter was still clutching over the both of them. It was an unspoken rule between the four that Peter and James could use the cloak if they were split up, as it belonged to James and Peter often had the worst luck imaginable. “You’ll be all right. If not, you can come live with Lily and I! You can be our live in babysitter and look after all fifteen of our children!”

   Even as the door closed, Remus and Sirius could clearly hear Peter’s cry of despair at the idea.

   “Are you going to scold me now?” Sirius asked in a clear attempt to appear nonchalant and fearless. He failed miserably, as he always did when confronted the potential wrath of his friend. Sirius truly hated letting Remus down, even if he did so in the pursuit of good fun.

   After a long sigh, Remus rubbed his temples and shook his head. “Of course not. Scolding you would only get in the way.”

   “In the way?”

   Oh no.

   “In the way of the  _revised plan_ , Padfoot.” Remus smiled wickedly (oh,  _oh_ , he was dangerous! More dangerous than the other three combined!) and brushed past Sirius to the door. Once he’d opened it a crack and peered out, he glanced over his shoulder to his (frightened, yet admiring and beyond excited) companion. “Are you coming?”

   With that, the pair were off.


	3. Chapter 3

    “Pet–”

    Peter covered James’ face with a hand. His heart raced in his chest with adrenaline and the desperate need to sleep. He wasn’t used to shushing James, but then, he wasn’t entirely in his right mind. Luckily, his friend didn’t seem to mind and quieted immediately.

    “Prongs,” Peter started, adjusting his weight on his feet. Merlin, he was tired. His entire body felt as though it were being weighed down. “Something…isn’t right.”

    Immediately, James looked around the vacant hallway around them. “What’s wrong?”

    Truly, Peter thought, he must be out of his mind.

    “It’s Moony. He…” Peter licked his lips, as if it would aid the words when they slipped out despite his better judgement. “He loves scolding Padfoot, doesn’t he?”

    “I think we all love it when Moony scolds Padfoot, but what’s that got to do with any– _oh_!” James slapped a hand on Peter’s shoulder as a familiar (and troubling) grin spread across his face. “You’re _right_ , Wormy. He  _does_ love scolding him, especially with an audience.”

    “So if he wanted us out–”

    “It wasn’t to get you to bed–”

    “ _He’s up to something._ ”

    “Oh Moony! You shouldn’t underestimate an exhausted Wormtail.” James laughed quietly to the door before he turned back to his friend. “We all know how perceptive you get when you need a kip.”

    Both boys pressed their ears against the door, their faces scrunched up as they focused. There was definitely a bit of chatter (though not much), and they didn’t need to hear what was being said to know Sirius had his tail between his legs. He never could stand up against Remus when he was in  _that mood_  for very long. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make anything out clearly, and James felt a bit of help was needed.

    He pulled out his wand and placed it against the door, and was just about to mutter a hasty (and helpful) incantation when footsteps further down the hall caught his attention.

    “I  _know_ he’s doing something he shouldn’t be.” Lily’s annoyed voice echoed through the hall, tensing James immediately.

    “Maybe it really was a–what did he say again?” Marlene asked, not nearly as unhappy. All the Marauders had suspected her of having a bit of an adventurous streak.

    “That a wild hippogriff had broken into the library and he, Black, Remus, and Peter needed to read it a bedtime story.”

    “That doesn’t seem too respectful.” Marlene replied, somewhat bemused. “If they do that in the library, then won’t it fall asleep there?”

    “Prongs–”

    “I was in a hurry, all right?” James whispered before Peter could ask. “Hagrid will back us up. You know he wants people to think of them more kindly!”

    “What if he wants  _us_ to start reading to them?”

    James stepped away from the door, a thoughtful look on his face. “He doesn’t have any, does he?”

    “It’s Hagrid!” Following James, Peter swayed a bit before he leaned against the wall beside the door. “You know what he’s like! He’ll  _find_ one, and what if–”

    The door to the broomless broom cupboard opened and Remus poked his head out. The girls had already disappeared and both James and Peter were under the cloak, hidden from view. For a second, James feared the cloak wasn’t covering them enough as Remus seemed to scrutinise their direction with furrowed brows, and he heard his heart beating in his ears. But then, Remus was giving Sirius the all clear, and the two were out the door and scurrying up the hallway–but not in the direction of the Tower.

    “They’re up to something!” James hissed to a nodding Peter. “If they think they can have fun without us, then–”

    There was a soft yell from the opposite direction, which cut James off immediately.

    It had been the direction Lily and Marlene had been travelling.

    Which meant—

    Invisibility be damned, James took off like a shot down the corridor and out from beneath the cloak. Though his exhausted limbs were thoroughly opposed (if not disgusted) at the idea of running, Peter wasn’t too far behind him. 

    Unfortunately, he soon lost sight of the fitter James, but he still ran as quickly as he could. He was still under the cloak (thank Merlin, he really didn’t want to be caught off guard), and followed the sound of James’ footsteps as best he could. 


	4. Chapter 4

   “No offence Moony, and far be it from me to question your judgement,” Sirius whispered as he moved the mop in Filch’s office slightly out of place, “but this isn’t one of your better plans.”

   “Don’t be ridiculous, Padfoot.” Remus retorted, using one finger to  _slightly_ readjust a sleeping portrait so it was  _just_ off centre. “This is one of my more brilliant plans.”

   “I just don’t see what it achieves.” Sirius sighed again, and definitely did  _not_ sound like he was whining. “Where’s the  _pizzazz_?”

   “I’ll tell you if you promise to never use the word pizzazz again.”

   “ _Fine_.” The feet of Filch’s wooden chair (which was now on the wrong side of the small desk in his office) scraped across the floor as Sirius collapsed into it. “Tell me and I won’t say it.”

   “Well,” Remus started as he fussed about rearranging the weirdly out of place flowers they’d found on Filch’s desk, “how do you feel when you come to the dorms and find your trunk has been rifled through?”

   “I feel like I need to deck Prongs for stealing my chocolate again. You’d swear he’d never eaten a meal in his life.”

   “And if there’s nothing missing?”

   “Then…” Suddenly, Sirius flew out of the chair and launched himself at Remus and nearly knocked the vase over as he did. “Moony, you ruddy genius! I’d think it’s a prank!”

   Flushing slightly at the praise (Remus never would get used to that), Remus nodded proudly as he readjusted the vase. “A prank without a prank will send him mad, you know.”

   “He’ll be looking for whatever it is we didn’t do for years!”

   “A little thank you gift to him, for seven years of delightful company.”

   “It’ll serve him right for taking the map.”

   “It’s a pity we couldn’t find it. I’d have liked to pass it down.” Or, Remus thought more honestly, kept it for himself as a memento the very best years of his young life. There’d have been no chance of that happening, what with how Sirius and James had already planned quite the over-the-top ceremony to pass it on to the next generation. “He must have known we’d come for it.”

   “Yeah. It’s insulting.” Sirius’ hands were still fixed to Remus’ shoulder, a fact he only just realised. They stayed silent for a moment, both turning pink and simply staring at each other. Then, both at once, they flew apart.

   Sirius cleared his throat as Remus inspected his shoes with a fascination he usually reserved for boring things (in Sirius’ opinion, at least).

   “Well, best be off then.” Remus squeaked as he tripped on his foot. “Without the cloak, it’s a bit dangerous.”

   “Very. Yes.” Sirius agreed as he followed Remus to the door.

   They stayed silent as they walked back toward Gryffindor Tower, both blaming it on the need for stealth. It wasn’t until they passed the broom cupboard all four of them had been in earlier that they heard it.

   A sound cruel enough to send a shiver down even Dumbledore’s spine, coming right from where they needed to go.

   “ ** _Mrrrrrrrooowww._** ”

   “ _RUN!_ ” While Sirius had whispered the word, he’d whispered it so loudly he needn’t have bothered whispering at all. Remus was already thinking the same thing, and snatched at Sirius’ hand and pulled him down the hallway.

   They couldn’t know it at the time (though Sirius would later say he’d felt a physical pull that escaped all logic and reason), but they were sprinting in exactly the same direction as James and Peter.


End file.
